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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 1:54 p.m., Friday, August 17, 2007

FEMA funding tapped to help pay for Big Island wildfire

Advertiser Staff

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help Hawai'i fight the Kohala Mountain Road wildfire on the north side of Hawai'i's Big Island.

A Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) was approved by FEMA, just over two hours after receiving the request from the state.

"This declaration is the first step towards enabling the state and local governments to apply for financial help," Nancy Ward, regional administrator for FEMA Region IX, said in a news release.

"We are committed to getting our firefighters the funds they need to extinguish dangerous fires that threaten lives and property."

The wildland fire, 3 miles west of the town of Waimea, was first reported yesterday afternoon.

It has burned more than 137 acres in the South Kahala District of the Big Island and this morning was 90 percent contained, Hawai'i County Fire Department officials said.

The brushfire had forced a brief evacuation of residents from Kamuela View Estates yesterday, but those evacuated were allowed to return home four hours later.

At the time of the FEMA request, the fire threatened more than 130 homes, and more than 100 people were evacuated from the Kamuela View subdivision. The county directed the threatened residents to the Waimea Community Center. The fire closed State routes 250 and 19 and threatened power lines, farmland and livestock.

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state's eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires.

Federal fire management assistance is provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and is made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to cause a major disaster. Eligible state firefighting costs covered by the aid must first meet a minimum threshold for costs before assistance is provided. Eligible costs covered by the aid can include expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; tools, materials and supplies; and mobilization and demobilization activities.